Sport

Star man Gladwin misses his standing ovation

BEN Gladwin received a standing ovation as he left the County Ground pitch following a man of the match performance against Preston North End on Saturday, not that he noticed.

Gladwin, who signed for Swindon Town from Marlow in November, won the penalty which eventually separated the teams and impressed with his passing range and close control against a physical and experienced Preston outfit.

The midfielder was substituted in the 89th minute and the home crowd rose to their feet in a show of appreciation for the 21-year-old’s efforts, but he missed it.

“I didn’t actually see it,” Gladwin revealed post-match.

“As I was walking off I was being congratulated by the boys on the bench and they said ‘turn round and have a look’ but I missed it.

“It was really good from the fans, I’m really pleased.”

Gladwin was a late call-up into the Town starting XI following injuries to Louis Thompson and Ryan Harley but he was delighted to prove to everyone associated with the club, as well as himself, that he has the ability to cut it at League One level.

“The gaffer had a little word with me (on Friday) but it was only when I came in the changing room that I knew I was going to play. I was just pleased to get some minutes under my belt,” he said.

“For me, now I know I can come to this level and the step up is not too big for me.

“In training I’ve been able to do it pretty much from when I joined but it was about transferring it onto the pitch.

“The gaffer had a word with me, which was good, and I think today I managed to do it.

“The legs started to go a little bit towards the end, I gave it away a few times and I knew that I just needed to be simple and make sure we got a result.

“It was fantastic. Most important was to get the result, I think in recent games some of the results have been unfair, so it was good to get a win and obviously nice for myself to put in a good performance.”

Looked handy in the appearances against Peterborough as well so not sure why it took so long to get a chance. Same with storey really we have been served up dross for weeks. Saturday restored my faith a little.

Gladwin will shock a few players as you don't associate big fellas with having great ball control which he has. Very very promising.

Hopefully cooper will continue playing 2 strikers as we have thrown away the last few games with his wafty tactics.

Looked handy in the appearances against Peterborough as well so not sure why it took so long to get a chance. Same with storey really we have been served up dross for weeks. Saturday restored my faith a little.
Gladwin will shock a few players as you don't associate big fellas with having great ball control which he has. Very very promising.
Hopefully cooper will continue playing 2 strikers as we have thrown away the last few games with his wafty tactics.doomster

I was pleased for Ben who put in a very good performance and hopefully will be offered more chances to show what he can do.

His vision and passing execution were his strongest points for me, so it seems a little churlish to ask him to work on his weaker, left foot a bit in training.

He'll benefit from a pre-season training in the summer. With greater fitness and less reliance on one foot he could be a real find for us.

It was a great battling showing on Saturday, coming from a few players who weren't consider first team starting options just a couple of weeks ago.

I was pleased for Ben who put in a very good performance and hopefully will be offered more chances to show what he can do.
His vision and passing execution were his strongest points for me, so it seems a little churlish to ask him to work on his weaker, left foot a bit in training.
He'll benefit from a pre-season training in the summer. With greater fitness and less reliance on one foot he could be a real find for us.
It was a great battling showing on Saturday, coming from a few players who weren't consider first team starting options just a couple of weeks ago.The artist formerly known as Marmite Soldier